Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 64 - 58: The Scent of My Sister-in-Law’s Perfume
Lin Xiamo’s gaze swept toward Shen Qiushan, who was sitting in the front row of the audience. Her unreliable brother-in-law had actually managed to win in an English vocabulary battle against a bunch of high schoolers.
Even though she had witnessed the whole process firsthand, it still all felt way too surreal.
It was as if this wasn’t real, like a scene from a dream.
Lin Xiamo bit her lower lip, perhaps a bit too hard—pain immediately shot up to her brain via the trigeminal nerve.
This wasn’t a dream after all.
Everything had actually happened.
She steadied herself and raised her voice slightly: "There are two winners of the first prize in this English vocabulary competition. They are Xu Pipa from Senior Three, Class One, and our accompanying student, Shen Qiushan from Senior Three, Class Five."
Woah!
The final results were revealed.
The gym instantly erupted with deafening cheers.
Mixed in were a few shouts of "Old Shen, you’re awesome!" and "Old Shen, so cool!"
Shen Qiushan stood up and waved to the enthusiastic students, then, under the bright-eyed gazes of the boys and girls, walked down from the audience seats.
But the other first prize winner, Xu Pipa, didn’t draw nearly as much attention as he did.
She only got Zhao Dongmei excitedly rubbing her mushroom-shaped hair.
Only when that girl with the mushroom cut stood up next to Shen Qiushan to receive the award did everyone remember there were actually two first prize winners.
"Another Celestial Pride Class student."
"Celestial Pride Class top students really do rock!"
"This girl looks so spaced out, who’d have thought she’s such a badass."
"Come on, that’s Xu Pipa! The eternal second place in Senior Three!"
"Eternal second? Then who’s first?"
"Seriously? You don’t know? School hunk Gu Huaisong!"
"..."
Xu Pipa, always in loose school uniform and sporting a mushroom haircut, might have looked ordinary, but her name was famous throughout Senior Three.
Because she was a well-known top student, pretty much always ranking second in every exam.
Lin Xiamo personally handed the certificate to Xu Pipa, along with the envelope containing the scholarship prize.
"Old Shen, you’re not officially enrolled in our school,"
"So the scholarship for first prize will go entirely to Xu Pipa!"
As Lin Xiamo handed the certificate to Shen Qiushan, she explained.
And calling him "Old Shen" out loud still felt a bit weird for her—although they didn’t see each other much, since Shen Qiushan never remarried...
She still recognized him as her brother-in-law, even if she was always quietly complaining about how unreliable he was. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"That’s only right."
"Scholarship money should go to the kids!"
Shen Qiushan smiled and nodded; he didn’t lack money these days, and there was no point fussing over a thousand yuan.
Besides, the young girl receiving the award with him clearly wasn’t from a wealthy family.
Her uniform had faded from too many washes, and her white sneakers were turning yellow.
A thousand yuan would help her out just fine!
Hearing Lin Xiamo and Shen Qiushan’s exchange, Xu Pipa’s eyes behind her black-framed glasses immediately brightened.
Truth was, after learning Shen Qiushan also scored 100, she’d been pretty bummed—one more person meant sharing the scholarship money.
Now, she didn’t have to split it with this uncle at all.
And a thousand yuan really was a huge sum for her.
It could push her savings for college tuition forward by a good bit!
The awarding of certificates was followed by the photo session.
Earlier, for the second prize, the scrawny, dark Gao Bin looked pretty out of place standing beside two Celestial Pride Class students.
Now, with Shen Qiushan and Xu Pipa standing together, it went beyond out of place—it was just surreal.
Shen Qiushan was tall and sturdy, while Xu Pipa was petite and thin.
Shen Qiushan wore a gray shirt paired with straight-cut casual pants.
Xu Pipa was buried in an oversized school uniform.
Shen Qiushan was 38, age lining the corners of his eyes and brows.
Xu Pipa was 18, eyes bright behind black frames, her cheeks still full of baby fat.
The contrast between them was just over the top.
If not for the matching certificates in their hands, no one would’ve believed this was the prize presentation.
Click!
The teacher in charge of photos pressed the shutter on the digital camera.
And froze that dramatic contrast in time.
"Principal Lin, I suggest we get a group shot with all the winners,"
At this moment, Zhao Jinpeng grinned and made the suggestion.
"Sure, good idea."
Lin Xiamo nodded.
Zhao Jinpeng then called all the winners—Gao Bin, Shen Yixiao, and the rest—over for a group photo.
"Principal Lin, you hop in too!"
"You’re the director of the whole contest!"
While getting everyone in position, Zhao Jinpeng made the suggestion before the picture was snapped.
Lin Xiamo hesitated a moment but nodded anyway.
As the leader, she naturally took center stage.
So she ended up standing between Shen Qiushan and Xu Pipa, the two first-prize winners.
"Everyone stand a little closer."
"Otherwise people at both ends won’t be in the shot!"
The teacher waved and directed everyone as he spoke.
So everyone crowded together, and Lin Xiamo found herself unintentionally pressed up against Shen Qiushan. In an instant, their scents had mingled, drifting into each other’s noses without warning.
Lin Xiamo was probably wearing perfume, a faint whiff of iris and white musk—a delicate fragrance with a dash of wildness beneath the elegance.
Shen Qiushan, on the other hand, gave off a powerful, masculine scent. More precisely, it wasn’t the scent, it was the anxious little flutter when her arm bumped his firm chest by accident.
3, 2, 1...
Click!
The shutter snapped.
The moment was frozen.
The first English Vocabulary Competition of Sanjiang High School came to a successful end.
"Uncle Shen, we lost."
"You’re seriously amazing!"
After the photo, Gao Bin walked over to greet Shen Qiushan of his own accord.
He acknowledged his defeat willingly. After all, they’d trained for a week before the contest and still couldn’t win.
"I feel pretty awesome myself!"
Shen Qiushan grinned and shrugged, not the least bit modest.
This contest had made it clear: for Gao Bin, Shen Yixiao, and the other sports students, tough love worked best.
Praise them too much and they’d get cocky in no time!
Just like Shen Yixiao now, about to plaster his certificate to his forehead any minute.
"Hey, you punks still wanna get your revenge or what?"
Shen Qiushan asked again.
"Of course we do."
Gao Bin nodded, then complained, "But Uncle Shen, we just can’t beat you in English!"
"Then let’s not do English next time."
Shen Qiushan waved it off, "There’s a mock exam next week, right? Let’s see who scores higher overall!"
"What?"
Gao Bin’s little eyes widened: "Compete on the mock exam grades?"
"Uncle Shen, you can’t be serious!"
"I admit your English is great, but the mock exam has six subjects!"
"Being good at English won’t cut it!"
Hearing this, Shen Yixiao also came running, "Dad, come on now."
"Competing mock exam grades with you? That’d just be bullying you!"
At that, Shen Qiushan burst out laughing, "Didn’t you say you didn’t want me to be your study companion anymore?"
"If you can get a higher total score than me in next week’s mock exam, I’ll transfer to Senior Three, Class Two and study with your sister!"
"Really??"
Shen Yixiao’s eyes instantly lit up.
He’d experienced more than enough "tough love" from dad lately!
It was only fair that Shen Yanran get a taste too, right?
"When have I ever gone back on my word?"
"It’s a deal!"
"Brother Bin, you be the witness!"
"Forget it, you’re not credible enough..."
Shen Yixiao’s gaze shifted subconsciously to his second aunt.
